UNMIK Media Observer, Afternoon Edition, August 22, 2022

Albanian Language Media:

Lajcak and Escobar to visit Prishtina and Belgrade this week (media)
Chancellor Scholz preparing a meeting with Kurti and Vucic in autumn (Express)
Education Minister: Pupils most affected by strike in educational system (media)
Ex-Minister of Energy presents alternatives to emerge from energy crisis (Kosovapress)
Team of journalists attacked in the north (Kanal 10)
“Serb Survival”: Vucic, Serbian List are expelling Serbs from Kosovo (Paparaci)
Miftaraj: Radoicic, wanted by Kosovo authorities, side by side with Vucic (Koha)
“Dialogue successful, only if issue of Albanians in Presevo Valley is included” (media)
Haradinaj with an initiative from September (media)
Delawie: Serbia is a threat to peace, not Kosovo (RTK)
COVID-19: 203 new cases, no deaths (media)

Serbian Language Media:

Mihajlovic: Preservation of peace the greatest patriotism (FoNet, N1)
Petkovic to Hill: Pristina's unilateral actions can threaten the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)
Vucic: “Whatever happens, there will be no more refugee columns” (N1, Tanjug)
The anniversary of the disappearance of journalists marked (KiM radio)
Increased presence of KFOR in the north, says Andric Rakic (N1)
Orlic: Special session of the Assembly on Kosovo in September (RTS)

Opinion:

Milivojevic: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue going badly since Vucic became President (Beta, N1)

International:

Albania investigates military factory intruders from Russia and Ukraine (RFE)
Serbia-Kosovo relations after the Brussels meeting: What do we know so far? (EWB)
Vucic: Serbia will be without Russian Oil from November 1 (novinite.com)

Albanian Language Media

Lajcak and Escobar to visit Prishtina and Belgrade this week (RTK)

Well informed sources in Brussels said that the EU Special envoy for dialogue Miroslav Lajcak and the U.S. envoy for Western Balkans Gabriel Escobar will be visiting Prishtina and Belgrade this week.

According to RTK’s Brussels based correspondent Gjeraqina Tuhina, Lajcak and Escobar will try to align parties’ positions in order to find a solution by 31 August. As reported, the meeting between Kosovo’s and Serbia’s chief negotiators planned for this week, might be postponed for after Lajcak’s and Escobar’s visit.

Chancellor Scholz preparing a meeting with Kurti and Vucic in autumn (Express)

The German Embassy in Prishtina confirmed to the news website today that Chancellor Olaf Scholz will invite Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic to a meeting in Berlin.

The Germany Embassy said that the “Federal Government, including the Special Representative for the Western Balkans, fully supports the EU-mediated dialogue and the proactive efforts of EU High Representative Josep Borrell and the EU Special Representative Miroslav Lajcak. The Special Representative of the Federal Government is in regular contact with both of them and also with the U.S. Special Envoy Escobar, with the aim of finding a sustainable solution, as was seen during his latest visit to Washington. He is also in close contact with Kosovo and Serbian negotiators”.

The embassy also said that Chancellor Scholz has started preparations for a meeting he will mediate between Kurti and Vucic in autumn as part of the Berlin Process. “This autumn, as part of the Berlin Process, Chancellor Scholz will invite both parties with the aim of further facilitating the dialogue. Preparations for the meeting are underway,” it said.

Germany also welcomed the August 18 meeting between Kurti and Vucic and appreciates that the two leaders have agreed to continue the negotiations. “It is important for both sides to engage constructively and work for a viable solution. Another escalation with roadblocks and violent protests is in no one’s interest. Instead, a comprehensive and sustainable agreement between the two sides is necessary, unlocking the European perspective for both states and contributing to regional security,” the statement notes.

As stated before, Germany supports the decision of the Government of Kosovo regarding licence plates and documents issued by Serbia, saying that they are in line with the existing agreements. “It is clear that the measures must be implemented in a way that would not create new tensions. Therefore, the focus is now on a constructive engagement in the ongoing talks.”

Education Minister: Pupils most affected by strike in educational system (media)

Kosovo’s Minister of Education, Arberie Nagavci, told a press conference on Saturday that pupils would be the most affected by a strike in the educational system which the Union of Education has announced for August 24-25. Nagavci said the Ministry of Education has made all preparations for the start of the new school year and that it is distributing educational text to all schools.

“We acknowledge the union organisations and the calls for better working conditions … We are trying to ensure the best working conditions for the educational staff, but we must also note that the failure to hold classes would mostly damage the pupils and their right to education. Denying the right to education is a violation of the basic right of children to education and as such it is unacceptable,” Nagavci said.

Ex-Minister of Energy presents alternatives to emerge from energy crisis (Kosovapress)

Kosovo’s former Minister of Energy, Ethem Ceku, in an interview with the news agency, blamed politics for the energy crisis and argued that the energy sector requires a political consensus. According to him, Kosovo would not have faced the current energy crisis if it had implemented the project for a new power plant, “Kosova e Re”.

Ceku also argued that the only solution to the crisis is to build small energy-producing blocs up to 200 megawatts in cooperation with the World Bank and Brussels and also to develop the sector of renewable energy.

“A consensus is needed between the government and the opposition for a development plan in the energy sector … Is the current government to blame for the current crisis? Yes, of course. We are all to blame and all governments are responsible when the project for a new power plant was stopped and which was supposed to produce 1,000 megawatts and it would have solved Kosovo’s problem with energy,” he added.

Team of journalists attacked in the north (Kanal 10)

Serbs in the northern part of Kosovo still do not want the presence of Albanian-speaking media there, the TV station reported on Sunday. It said that on Sunday as their team was covering the security situation in the north and expectations for a final settlement between Kosovo and Serbia, they were attacked by local Serbs. “This is the second attack against the team of the TV station and another one in the series of attacks against Albanian-speaking media,” it further said.

Skender Sadiku, from the Municipal Assembly of Mitrovica North, told Kanal 10 that the citizens there are tired of the situation, and that he hopes for a final settlement between the two sides. “Especially the residents of the Mitrovica North municipality want equal treatment, justice and to be treated as normal citizens … We are tired of the games of heroes and victims, while we are losing generations and dealing with useless things,” he said.

“Serb Survival”: Vucic, Serbian List are expelling Serbs from Kosovo (Paparaci)

The news website reports that representatives of the civic initiative “Serb Survival” have expressed concern over the latest address by Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic. They argued that Vucic needs “to stop efforts” of intimidating people “because in Kosovo are living only those that are not afraid and those which his regime and the Serbian List failed to expel”. They further argued that Vucic “proved there is a silent agreement between him and Prime Minister of Kosovo Albin Kurti”. “The people are afraid of the current situation and there is no need for further fear, mistrust and to intimidate the remaining Serbs. We believe it is clear to the President [Vucic] that he can no longer use the north of Kosovo as his theatre,” they added.

Miftaraj: Radoicic, wanted by Kosovo authorities, side by side with Vucic (Koha)

Ehat Miftaraj from the Kosovo Law Institute said on Sunday that the deputy leader of the Serbian List, Milan Radoicic, who is wanted by Kosovo authorities, “has found protection from the Serbian state”. Miftaraj said in a Facebook post that Radoicic could be seen alongside Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic at his meeting with Kosovo Serb political representatives in Belgrade. “The European Union, Borrell, the European Commission, can no longer turn a blind eye and allow Serbia to turn into a haven of criminals that commit criminal acts in Kosovo,” he argued.

“Dialogue successful, only if issue of Albanians in Presevo Valley is included” (media)

Presevo Mayor Shqiperim Arifi said in a Facebook post today that the dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia on the normalisation of relations can be successful if it also addresses the issue of Albanians living in Presevo Valley. “Otherwise, it is absurd and meaningless to deny the basic human rights to Albanians in the [Presevo] Valley, and at the same time give the Serb minority in the north of Kosovo a Helvetic-style canton with all the executive and legislative powers, namely a state within a state. Five minutes to 12, Albanians in Presevo Valley expect dignifying and comprehensive positions from the government of the Republic of Kosovo, because Albanians from this region are the solution and not the problem of the agreement,” Arifi argued.

Haradinaj with an initiative from September (media)

Ramush Haradinaj, leader of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK), informed through a post in social media that due to the recently created situations, starting from September, he plans to meet citizens of Kosovo.

“The dialogue process, the created political and economic situation in the country, have forced us to be more engaged and focused than ever before. Starting from the first week of September this year, I will start a process of discussions with the citizens of Kosovo at different settlements of the country,” he wrote.

“We will discuss openly about the dialogue and mutual recognition between Kosovo and Serbia, about the serious socio-economic situation with a special focus on the grave energy situation,” Haradinaj wrote.

Delawie: Serbia is a threat to peace, not Kosovo (RTK)

The former ambassador of the United States of America to Kosovo, Greg Delawie, said that "Serbia is the real threat to peace in the Balkans, not Kosovo."

“Warmongering in the Balkans from Vucic. Make no mistake, Serbia is the real threat to peace here, not Kosovo. KFOR, the NATO peacekeeping force, will do its job. This is a well-written story that does not "both sides" the situation,” Delawie tweeted.

COVID-19: 203 new cases, no deaths (media)

203 new cases with COVID-19 were confirmed in the last 24 hours in Kosovo. There are 3,195 active cases with COVID-19 in Kosovo.

Several news websites note that in an interview over the weekend, Kosovo’s Minister of Health, Rifat Latifi, said that Kosovo could see a new wave of the pandemic in autumn.

Serbian Language Media

Mihajlovic: Preservation of peace the greatest patriotism (FoNet, N1)

Despite Pristina’s rejection, Serbia remains committed to talks and to finding a compromise solution, said Serbia’s Mining and Energy Minister Zorana Mihajlovic, Fonet reported.

Preserving peace and stability in the southern province is the greatest patriotism and courage because Serbia does not want war, said a press release issued from Mihajlovic’s office.

“We are all worried about the situation in Kosovo and Metohija (the official name for what the Serbian authorities consider to be the country’s southern province), on the one side you have (Kosovo Prime Minister) Albin Kurti’s aggression and threats, and on the other Serbia and President Aleksandar Vucic who has been trying for years, not just at the latest talks in Brussels, to reach a compromise,” said Mihajlovic.

She said the Serbian side is making efforts to keep people safe but is, at the same time, „receiving blows which are in fact calls for armed conflicts “.

“We do not want war, we are committed to finding a peaceful solution, no matter how long the talks take,” said Mihajlovic, adding she has full confidence in the President and believes that Serbia will manage to preserve peace and security.

The Minister said Pristina can have as many requests as it wants but anything to the disadvantage of Serbia and its people will not be accepted.

Petkovic to Hill: Pristina's unilateral actions can threaten the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija (RTS)

The Director of the Office for Kosovo and Metohija, Petar Petkovic, met with the US Ambassador to Serbia, Christopher Hill, who he informed in detail about the talks between Belgrade and Pristina, which were held on Thursday in Brussels, and Belgrade's efforts to calm tensions through dialogue and find a sustainable solution on the ground, reported RTS. Petkovic expressed his fear that Pristina's insistence on implementing the decision on re-registration of vehicles and ID cards in 10 days will lead to a further rise in tensions and increased provocations and pressure on Serbs.

Petkovic pointed out that ''Belgrade has shown that it wants to continue the dialogue and establish normalization of relations with Pristina, which would be a prerequisite for peace, stability, and economic prosperity of the state of Serbia, but also of the entire Western Balkans region''.

''The Belgrade delegation showed maximum responsibility and insisted all the time on preserving the peace and security of citizens in the province and in that light, it offered compromise solutions, which the Pristina delegation refused.''

"Pristina came to Brussels with the idea of some kind of general agreement in six points, with special insistence on mutual recognition, payment of alleged compensation by Belgrade and re-examination of all previously agreed agreements, which clearly shows that Pristina politicians have only two goals, the abolition of the state of Serbia on the territory of Kosovo and Metohija and the expulsion of Serbs from their centuries-old homes," warned Petar Petkovic.

Petkovic expressed his fear that ''Pristina's insistence on implementing the decisions on re-registration of vehicles and ID cards in ten days will lead to further rising tensions and increased provocations and pressure on Serbs'', reported RTS.

"That is why it is essential that all relevant international factors understand the seriousness of the situation we are currently in and understand that unilateral actions by Pristina on the mentioned issues can threaten the security situation in Kosovo and Metohija," stressed the Director of the Office for KiM.

Petkovic emphasized that the formation of the Community of Serbian Municipalities would be a necessary step in the right direction and the key to solving many problems in the province.

"Serbia will continue to look for compromise solutions in the next ten days but will also remain determined to protect the safety of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija and to save them from pogroms and persecution," concluded the director of the Office.

Petkovic thanked the American ambassador for his understanding of the position of the Serbian people in the province, but also for recognizing that the Serbian delegation came to the meeting in Brussels ready to negotiate, reach a compromise and find a way forward.

Vucic: “Whatever happens, there will be no more refugee columns” (N1, Tanjug)

“We have nowhere to go, and we are cornered on the Kosovo-Metohija issue, but our key message to Serbs in Kosovo is that there will be no refugee columns from Kosovo-Metohija and that we will protect our people there,” Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Sunday after a meeting with Serb representatives from Kosovo.

In a public address, Vucic said Belgrade's delegation had had four tasks in the latest round of the Belgrade-Pristina dialogue at the highest level.

"Firstly, to do everything in our power to preserve peace, stability, safety and security. Secondly, we had to avert a comprehensive Western condemnation of Serbia and claims that we were not for compromise to a sufficient extent and that we did not come with ideas and proposals about how to reach compromise," Vucic said.

As small as we are, we must look after ourselves, while considering the strength of others, Vucic said.

"Thirdly, and very importantly for us, we had to worry about what this will look like in all parts of the world, whether we will be branded as someone committing an aggression and leading to instability and uncertainty, or whether we will give more than can possibly be given to make it evident that the other side is the one that does not want anything, but leads to instability, unrest, conflict and war," Vucic said.

“The fourth task was to ensure the survival of our people in Kosovo-Metohija,” Vucic noted.

He said Serbs in the north of Kosovo felt intimidated in the wake of threats by Pristina officials that they would suffer the fate of the Krajina Serbs, expelled from Croatia in the 1990s.

"We have nowhere to go, we are cornered and, today, our key message to the population was that, whatever happens and however it happens, there will be no refugee columns, we will protect our people from being expelled and from pogroms in case NATO or KFOR troops do not want to do that, or in case they take part in an expulsion together with ethnic Albanians, but I hope they will not," Vucic said.

Pristina's ruling on the Decani monastery demonstrates the extent of persecution of the Serbs, not only from Strpce, Gracanica and Kosovsko Pomoravlje, because Pristina is now determined to remove the "last big thorn in its side", the Serbs from the north of Kosovo-Metohija, Vucic said.

He said the Serb representatives had given free rein to the Serbian state leadership to continue to seek a compromise solution over the next ten days, pledging to support the solution if one was found.

They will leave Pristina's institutions unless the persecution of Serbs is stopped, Vucic said.

He said all types of intelligence activities had been stepped up in the north of Kosovo.

"In a timely manner, we have informed the people who are on a hit list made by the Pristina regime and approved by some foreign services. We have detected strange movements by some people. A group of Circassians and Chechens were in the north of Kosovo-Metohija with two objectives - to observe the situation in the north and to perform additional recruitment of ethnic Albanians for the Ukraine conflict."

Vucic said the group was linked to people known as adversaries of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov.

The president said the group had met with a Turkish national in Zubin Potok on August 3 and had been verifying the readiness of north Kosovo Serbs to oppose the Pristina authorities.

They were aiming to provide information that would lead to neutralization of armed groups of Serbs, Vucic said.

See at:https://bit.ly/3KivHQT

The anniversary of the disappearance of journalists marked (KiM radio)

The Association of Journalists of Serbia (UNS) and the Association of Journalists of Kosovo and Metohija (DNKiM) marked 24 years since the disappearance of Radio Pristina journalists Djuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic, not far from Orahovac, reported KiM radio.

About thirty journalists and media workers gathered in memory of their colleagues who went to Zociste on August 21, 1998, to cover the story of the abduction and return of the monks to the monastery there. They went missing not far from Orahovac and Velika Hoca.

Family members of the missing Ranko Perenic also attended the gathering.

"Words are redundant here, I don't know how to describe this pain to you. In fact, there is nothing new and I do not know what to say and to whom," said the wife of the missing Ranko.

Journalist Jelena Petkovic pointed out that "there are no effective investigations that would show us what happened to the kidnapped journalists".

"Almost a quarter of a century has passed since our colleagues disappeared and since then we don't know what happened. During that time, 11 heads of UNMIK, seven heads of EULEX have been replaced and we have no effective investigations to show us what happened and who are the people responsible for what happened. It is important that we know what happens to our colleagues when they go to work in the field and if something happens to them - who is responsible for it. If there is no justice, there is no security," she said.

Journalist and RTV editor Kim Zorica Vorgucic addressed the audience on behalf of DNKiM.

"It is devastating that the institutions, both domestic and international, do nothing to solve this and other cases of disappearances of journalists. EULEX suspended the investigation, and the Prime Minister of Kosovo, Albin Kurti, who repeatedly emphasized as a priority solving the issue of the missing in the process of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina, repeatedly denied himself. I appeal to Albanian colleagues and associations to join us in this fight, because in addition to Djuro Slavuj and Ranko Perenic, there are other colleagues, Serbs and Albanians and foreigners, who have disappeared or were killed They deserved to be talked about and the whole truth to be known," she stated.

UNS General Secretary Nino Brajovic reminded that the suffering of journalists in Kosovo and Metohija from 1998 to 2005 was the greatest suffering of journalists in that period in Europe.

"From August 21, 1998, great suffering began, in fact the greatest suffering of journalists so far, in the European area. While investigating the kidnapping of Ranko Perenic and Djuro Slavuj, we came to the devastating information that, in Kosovo and Metohija, from 1998 to in 2005, 17 journalists were killed and kidnapped. Our colleagues gave their lives for the freedom of the journalistic profession," said Brajovic.

UNS President Zivojin Rakocevic also addressed the gathering and emphasized that until the fate of the missing colleagues was known, there would be no true freedom.

"We are in the place where the memorial plaque to our colleagues was destroyed eight times and rebuilt nine times. We are looking for our colleagues because there is no freedom, because there is no justice, because until we know what happened to them, none of us will have true freedom. We are looking for them because families are waiting for justice, because the profession is waiting for justice, because we all know that the system that has been established is responsible for silence," he said.

Among the gathered journalists, at the place of disappearance of Perenic and Slavuj, was the representative of the OSCE, Dane Koruga.

Increased presence of KFOR in the north, says Andric Rakic (N1)

Milica Andric Rakic from the New Social Initiative told N1 that the presence of KFOR in the north has increased and that the days start with a helicopter flyover every day. She pointed out that she has not witnessed such a presence since 2011.

"On September 1st, I expect that we will have a strong presence of KFOR in the north, the implementation of the decision on entry and exit, and then a boycott of re-registration. And, after two months, when the deadline for re-registration passes, that is, on November 1, when the Kosovo government, by its own decision, should start confiscating cars that are not registered, I expect new tensions and problems," she said, reported N1.

N1 recalled that Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said after meeting with representatives of Serbs from KiM that they supported the leadership to "search for a compromise solution for the next 10 days".

Orlic: Special session of the Assembly on Kosovo in September (RTS)

A special session of the Serbian Parliament on Kosovo and Metohija will be held in September, said the president of the republican parliament, Vladimir Orlic, reported RTS, citing TV Prva.

Vladimir Orlic told TV Prva that the parliamentary group "Aleksandar Vucic – Together we can do everything" announced that it will submit an initiative to hold a parliamentary session on the topic of Kosovo and Metohija and added that he expects such a request to be submitted through the formal procedure.

"It is certain that we will hold a session on this topic in September," said Orlic and added that it will be an opportunity for people in Serbia to hear in more detail what we are facing and what we are doing when it comes to Kosovo.

Opinion

Milivojevic: Belgrade-Pristina dialogue going badly since Vucic became President (Beta, N1)

Political scientist Cvijetin Milivojevic said that negotiations between Belgrade and Pristina have been going badly since Aleksandar Vucic became Serbian President and that the Kosovo issue should be taken back to the United Nations (UN) Security Council, reported N1.

Milivojevic said the UN Security Council was the place from which the Belgrade-Pristina was initiated and where it would end, and that any solution that was reached would go to the Security Council for verification.

“The Security Council only gave the European Union (EU) a mandate to coordinate these negotiations, not to adopt or impose solutions. Why did not Serbia ask, for ten years, the issue of Kosovo to be taken back to the Security Council because it is obviously not going well when managed by EU negotiators,” he said.

Milivojevic said that the Serbian President, neither under Serbia’s Constitution nor under the Law on the President of the Republic, should be a negotiator in negotiations on the potential cession of a part of Serbia’s territory, because that was not one of the president’s powers.

“This is the job of the Government, which is the executive body, and then, in a second instance, possibly a people’s referendum. Vucic has been discrediting the state institutions since 2012,” said Milivojevic, adding that there have been a number of different negotiators on Pristina’s side as well as people in charge of the technical part of the negotiations, so why would the prime minister or president always have to go there.

By participating in the negotiations in Brussels, Vucic has “subverted the institution of the president of the Republic”.

International

Albania investigates military factory intruders from Russia and Ukraine (RFE)

Albania said on August 21 that it was investigating why two Russians and a Ukrainian had tried to enter a military factory, and police have also detained four Czech nationals who were close to another military plant.

The Albanian Defense Ministry said in a statement late on August 20 that Albanian authorities had arrested two Russians and one Ukrainian who were trying to enter a military plant in central Albania.

The ministry said two Albanian soldiers were injured while trying to prevent the three foreign nationals -- two men and a woman -- from taking photos of the Gramsh factory, some 80 kilometers south of the capital, Tirana.

"The officers who were guarding the plant reacted immediately, but during their efforts to stop the three foreign nationals, two of our soldiers were injured" by one of the attackers who used a paralyzing spray, the statement said.

The two soldiers were transported to a Tirana hospital and are receiving medical treatment, the statement said, adding that their lives were not in danger.